One Shot
by Sakate
Summary: A look at Karen and Tom's conversation after Derek and Jimmy storm off during the episode "The Song" in season 2 of Smash, and what goes on to convince Tom to speak to Derek the next morning. Aaand for kicks and giggles what happens between the show and Eileen's meeting.


Author's note: Don't own Smash or any of the characters, etc. etc...although I am majorly crushing on Christian Borle right now, hence the quick one-shot and potentially a much longer Tom/Kyle slash fic if I don't die from overwork this upcoming week.

I love Tom's character, he's usually fair and rather noble-minded/idealistic of people (lol, so he's not perfect either, but whatever - you get my point, Tom fans!), and it's an admirable quality to watch amidst all the crazy drama in Smash. I was really curious after watching "The Song" in season 2 about what the heck Karen would say to Tom to get him to talk to Derek the next morning, so this basically picks up from Jimmy stalking away and Karen turning to see Tom standing by the door, and goes from there...enjoy!

Critique welcome, insults will be ignored. I'm rather rusty, and writing is something I do to escape the dry and overwhelming scientific research I've devoted my life to at the moment, so if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. Thaaaaanks. To everyone else, I love reviews and comments! :)

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"What happened?"

Karen looks at Tom, Jimmy's hard work still clutched in her hands. She wondered how much of the fight he'd seen or even heard from inside the studio.

"I thought I could help them. They need to get their work recognized, and this would have been the perfect opportunity. I don't know why Derek had to be such a jerk about it. He didn't even give Jimmy a chance!"

Tom crosses his arms and looks down. "There's a lot of pressure riding on this show, not just for Ronnie but for Derek as well. He needs this night to go well, and Ronnie's mother is rather..."

"I know, I know. But he didn't have to treat Jimmy like dirt."

Tom sighs, looks out to the street where Jimmy disappeared and then stretches out his hand, fingers beckoning. "Give it here. I'll take a look, and if it's as good as you say it is, I'll see that Derek listens to it."

"But he already -"

Tom raises an eyebrow at her unbelief, a small smile twitching up on one corner of his lips. "I have my ways. He'll listen. Come on, we've still got some dance steps to rehearse."

He walks over to her, gently taking the pages from her hands and leads her back into the studio.

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"No one deserves anything in this buisness! You wait your turn and you earn it. You are not there yet."

When Tom had gone looking for Derek with a few questions about a number, Ivy had pointed him to the back door entrance behind the studio. Standing by the doorframe out of sight, he had listened in to the conversation and then watched as Derek stormed by him, not even noticing he had been standing by the doorway.

Now sitting down on the couch in the back lounge with a sigh, he stares at the piano Jimmy, Kyle, and Karen had been working at just hours earlier. His own sharp words echoed in his head.

"Hey. When we were starting out we were lucky to even get in a room with a director for five seconds, let alone five minutes."

He hadn't been as harsh as Derek, but he had experienced the same or worse rejection from people when he and Julia had first started out. It was a part of show business, both with the type-A personalities and the difficulty in getting recognized, even if you had talent, but that didn't mean it wasn't wrong.

Before his eyes, the image of Jimmy, Kyle, and Karen fade into a memory of a younger version of him seated at the piano, Julia standing behind him. They laughed and smiled, but he remembered the anger in Julia's voice when directors canceled a meeting at the last minute, or didn't even get through half of their performance before walking out to answer a phone call.

He looks down at the music, reading through it. He'd sacrifice a few hours, even after an exhausting day of rehearsing, to see just how talented these guys really were. Either way, he'd still talk to Derek in the morning.

As the images of younger days fade from his mind, Tom rises from the couch and lays out the music, starting to play the melody, thinking.

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The thunderous encore at Jimmy and Kyle's work made Karen smile. She had been shocked at Derek's announcement during the morning's rehearsal, but hadn't gotten the chance to talk or even glance at Tom sitting behind his piano, or busy speaking behind the curtain with the orchestration as he fine-tuned the music for the show. Introducing a new song so late in the day meant fast work and a lot of rehearsing, she had used her breaks to revive and send off a now sober Jimmy to fetch his suit for the show and to call Kyle and let him know he should come as well.

Now that the show was over, she walked over to Jimmy and Kyle standing on the side and was enveloped in hugs from both of them, thrilled by the surprise of their song being sung by an icon on national television.

"How did you do it?" Kyle exclaims. Jimmy nods, equally impressed. "I didn't think Derek would change his mind, not after what he said yesterday."

Karen grins at them, revealing the truth.

"I didn't."

Both of them looked as shocked as she knew she had been earlier that day.

Karen catches sight of Tom, who finishes thanking the orchestration and turning to head out for the night, already dressed in scarf and coat.

"Tom!"

She hurries over to stop him. He turns to face the group, a knowing smile on his face. "Karen. Kyle, Jimmy," he nods at all of them.

"Thank you so much for talking to Derek, you didn't have to, but you did and it was amazing. What did you say to him?"

Jimmy and Kyle look to Tom, seeing the truth on his face as he nods, revealing just who it was that changed their firey director's mind.

An unfamiliar emotion welled up in Jimmy, and before he could even think about what he was saying

"You. After brushing us off like we were not worth your time, you convinced Derek to use our song?"

As it came out he knew how wrong it sounded; accusing and biting towards the person who probaby spent a lot of effort into creating a miracle for them. Without even looking he knew Kyle was open mouthed and glaring at him.

Kyle tried to explain. "He didn't mean it like that we just -"

Tom held up a hand to silence him, quirking an eyebrow at Jimmy. "Good work speaks for itself, no matter who writes it." He faces Jimmy, his gaze making Jimmy stare straight back at him, despite his embaressment. "Your work is good. Derek and I wouldn't have agreed to anything less. If it galls you that much to accept my help, think of it simply as me paying it forward, so to speak, to the new talent..."

He turns sharply to Karen, returning to a smile. "...Including this beautiful lady. It was lovely to work with you again, my dear. You were wonderful." Tom steps forward to kiss her cheek making her smile, and steps back to look at Kyle and Jimmy.

"I look forward to seeing your work in the future. Good luck." He nods and turns to walk out of the studio.

Karen and Kyle both look at Jimmy, arms crossed.

"I know, I know, it just came out wrong..."

Karen glares at him. "Tom did a lot to get your song up on stage. I don't know what he did, he and Tom hate each other. For him to ask...just forget it. I need to change" She stalks off towards the dressing rooms, leaving Jimmy and Kyle standing alone.

"I -"

"Just go and apologize already. He just headed out the door." Kyle interrupts. "You need to do this, not just for us, but for you. Fix your mess."

Jimmy sighs and starts a quick pace, heading out the door at a near-run. He sees Tom out at the end of the street, trying to hail a cab.

"Tom! Wait up!"

He slows to take the last few steps and stop a few feet away from Tom, who froze at the sound of his name as if contemplating just getting into the cab and leaving. Instead, he turns slowly to once again face Jimmy, expression blank and expectant.

Jimmy starts, running a hand through his hair as he catches his breath. "Look man, I'm sorry about what I said, I didn't mean it the way it came out. I was just...surprised. Not a lot of people have given us a chance recently. We can't thank you enough."

Tom's expression softens, and he uncrosses his arms, more relaxed hearing Jimmy apologize instead of snap at him. He sighs, sinking his hands into coat pockets. "Derek was wrong to say those things to you last night, but...he wasn't necessarily wrong. Show business isn't easy; you'll never stop fighting to be heard, and even then your ideas may still end up being a failure. That being said..."

He ducks his shoulders down and shrugs, gathering his thoughts before continuing. "Derek sees things unlike any other director on Broadway. His amazing vision and ideas is what seperates him, and I see that same characteristics in you...including his temper." He looks pointedly at Jimmy, who looks down abashed.

"When I see you, and Kyle and Karen, I see younger versions of the people I've spent my entire career working with. And I'm looking forward to all the things you may accomplish. That potential is what I reminded Derek about, because despite our differences, he's seen it too. I just convinced him to trust the instincts he had in the first place."

Jimmy suddenly could think of nothing to say. Tom smiles seeing the rather dumbfounded expression on his face, and opens his mouth to say something else.

"Tom! Bloody hell, check your phone for God's sake. Eileen called, she has big news on Bombshell."

They turn to see Derek walking up to them, gesturing at the cab. "Let's go – Eileen said Julia is on her way." He nods to Jimmy, walking to the street side of the cab and getting in. Tom looks back to Jimmy, rolling his eyes in good humor at Derek's abrupt appearance.

"No rest for the weary! It was nice meeting you, Jimmy." He nods a goodnight and opens the door and moves to get in the car.

"Wait!" Tom stops, looking back at Jimmy, halfway in the car.

"Thanks. For everything."

Tom smiles, shaking his head and waves a hand in dismissal, getting into the car. As it drives away, Jimmy walks back into the studio, his mind determined to get Hit List on Broadway. But tonight...it was okay to enjoy the moment.


End file.
